Local chocolatier Phillip Ashley Rix would like to see his hometown become a destination as synonymous with chocolate as the sweetest cities in the world.

“If you want to get the best chocolate, Memphis is the place to go,” he imagines people saying someday.

If that seems unlikely, you may not know what Rix has accomplished in a no less unlikely fashion: He started Phillip Ashley Chocolates without any culinary education or experience, and, 10 years later, he was making treats for the Grammys and the Oscars.

Along the way, the entrepreneur learned many lessons that were key to his success; here are 12, the number Rix considers the platonic ideal size for a box of chocolates.

1. Follow your dream

With more than 10 years of corporate sales experience at FedEx Corp. and other companies, Rix woke up one day at 3 o’clock in the morning and decided he would become a chocolatier.

“It seemed like the most radical idea,” Rix said.

Although he had grown up around cooking, Rix had no restaurant training, no formal chef experience and no history in chocolate.

Furthermore, he wasn’t interested in working in a traditional restaurant environment.

After graduating from Bartlett High School, he had gone to Middle Tennessee State University and had plans to attend medical school. Instead, during his time at MTSU, he found he liked business, and he graduated with a degree in marketing.

Since he had gone into sales after college, Rix researched possibly becoming a representative for a chocolate manufacturer but quickly realized he wasn’t very excited about the idea.

No, Rix wanted to be in the consumer goods industry but with a business where he was the one making and selling the product — and he wanted it to be scalable.

2. You can create your path

Rix, who was, by then, living in Maryland, next looked into attending culinary school but found no real path for chocolate. So, for more than two years, he taught himself about cocoa, reading, researching and making chocolate in his home kitchen.

“I spend a lot of time daydreaming about chocolate,” Rix said. “I think about it all the time.”

In 2010, his dream became a reality when Rix moved back to Memphis and started a business called Chocistry.

“I was taking a position with a new company, and I could live in Atlanta or Memphis,” Rix said. “I chose Memphis because I knew I wanted to also pursue my business.”

He recalled one early test with dark Jamaican rum, bananas and pecans.

“I learned the rules,” he said, “so I could break them. A lot of what I do with chocolate — none of that is in a book.”

Today, those unconventional creations include ingredients such as mango, barbecue rub and blue cheese.

3. Branding is important

As the owner of Chocistry, Rix did pop-ups and tastings to build brand awareness. Space was an important consideration, and he hosted his events in sophisticated settings, such as banks and art galleries.

During his events, he learned that people had trouble pronouncing the name Chocistry, even when it was spelled phonetically. And, he reasoned, if people couldn’t pronounce the company name, they couldn’t tell their friends about it.

Two years in, he rebranded the company as Phillip Ashley Chocolates and moved into a commercial kitchen.

4. Plant your flag

In November 2013, Rix opened his retail location at 798 Cooper St., in Cooper Young.

From the beginning, he had planned to do everything online without ever opening a brick-and-mortar location. But, given he was an unknown entity, he realized people needed to see, touch — and, most importantly — taste his products in person. They needed to gain trust in his product.

“People buy into you before they buy from you,” Rix said. “You didn’t count if you didn’t have a place where [people] could walk in.”

The business’ retail location first served as a test market and, even though the storefront now only makes up about 15 percent of the company’s overall sales, Rix said it’s still important.

The rest of Phillip Ashley Chocolates sales come from online or corporate sales.

Rather than open additional retail locations around the country, Rix plans to go back to his beginnings, hosting two-week pop-ups in major cities such as Los Angeles, New York and Atlanta.

5. Keep it lean

In the past, Phillip Ashley Chocolates had as many as 11 employees, but now Rix keeps things “as lean as possible” with just four other employees, putting his energy into efficiency and employee cross-training.

“I’d rather be here 30 years from now,” he said, than overextend the business.

As such, Rix does most of the production. He trained his father, a retired teacher and basketball coach, how to paint the chocolates, while Rix himself creates the styles, colors and designs. His mother handles the operations. Two other employees work at his retail store.

“I’m the only one who develops formulas,” Rix said.

6. Keep people guessing

Rix estimates having created 300 to 400 different taste combinations, including special, one-of-a-kind delicacies for special events.

“I don’t want to just have 10 flavors,” he said. “I constantly want to create new stuff.”

Phillip Ashley Chocolates currently has 48 signature flavors. These are the chocolates that are available for retail sales. There are also seasonal collections, designed to keep people engaged with the products and to keep Rix making new creations.

7. The best things in life come by the dozen

No matter how many flavors he creates, each of Rix’s boxes are limited to 12 pieces of chocolate.

Why? Rix says all the best gifts come in a dozen: A dozen roses, a dozen chocolates, a dozen donuts.

Boxes currently sell online for $48.

8. Stop, collaborate and listen

Though it offers retail and online sales, Phillip Ashley Chocolates often works with corporate clients to provide them with branded sweets for special events.

During that process, Rix will sit down with his clients and ask them, “What does your brand taste like?”

They’ll talk about details such as why their company was started and what it does. Rix asks about employees’ favorite foods, favorite colors and favorite places to travel.

Rix is currently finalizing the design of a collection inspired “by the roots of a locally based global company,” though he could not identify the client. Instilling a “culture of thank you” drives Rix’s corporate business.

“[Rix has] a tasting ability that I respect a good deal and he is very creative with his flavors,” Bartosch said. “Those things are similar to the way I think about beer.”

Bartosch said he was very pleased with the way the beer turned out.

“We have worked with all sorts of people, mostly other breweries, but this was definitely our first time working with a chocolatier. And I would definitely do it again.”

10. Use the media

During the company’s existence, Phillip Ashley Chocolates have been in some fancy places.

In 2013, Rix’s chocolates were featured at a gifting suite for the Academy Awards at the SLS Beverly Hills hotel.

“The company that produces [the event] ordered my chocolates online after seeing one of my posts on social media,” Rix said.

Earlier this year, Phillip Ashley Chocolates was the official chocolatier of the Emmy Awards Governors Ball. Rix shipped 25,000 chocolates via FedEx to California; the order took him two and a half weeks to make.

The deal with the Emmys started when Rix’s company was featured on CNN.

“The day it came out, the production company for the Television Academy called,” he said.

For the party, Rix made 10 different chocolates, including a champagne-flavored one with the Emmy logo painted on it.

Last year, Rix served as the official chocolatier for the 58th annual Grammy Awards Gift Lounge. His 23-karat gold, salt caramel pecan pralines, that cost $79 each, were given as a parting gift for guests of the official Grammy Celebration. In addition, he was also the official chocolatier for the Oscars Salute, which was “powered by” Maserati.

11. You don’t have to do everything yourself

Rix wants to increase his company’s social responsibility, but wants to first figure out where the business fits best. In years past, Rix hosted themed holiday galas at the Pink Palace Museum and Guest House at Graceland to help raise money for organizations such as the Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital Heart Institute, FedExFamilyHouse, Soulsville Foundation, West Cancer Center, Memphis Urban League and Church Health.

There is not one planned for 2017, however. Instead, Rix said, he wants to “try to find how I can be involved in Memphis that helps.”

12. Memphis is home sweet home

Rix’s goal is to make Phillip Ashley Chocolates into a globally recognized brand. The company already sells chocolates in Portugal, and he’s interested in expanding into the rest of Europe as well as China.

Though his scope is global and he often travels, Rix wants to keep his company based in Memphis.

“Operation-wise, I can’t think of a better place,” Rix said, citing the area’s supply chain assets. “We can ship year-round. We have the ability to operate better financially [in Memphis] than in other great cities. We can be everywhere, because we can be digital.”

The city also allows him to enact all the lessons he’s learned. Rix wants his company to be seen as “high-end luxury,” the gift you can give to the person who has seen everything and still impress them.

“We don’t sell chocolates,” Rix said. “We sell an experience.”

Exclusive Ingredients Paired With Exotic Tastes

Next year, Rix plans to create an “ultra-premium, luxury” 12-piece box, utilizing some of the most expensive ingredients in the world (listed, in part, below).

“I’ve spent a tremendous amount of time searching for and procuring from some of the very best suppliers around the world,” Rix said.